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Monday, March 13, 2017

Fly Me To The Moon by Diane Burton

photo credit: NASA

If you were around in 1969, you and your family were
probably glued to the television set on July 20th. I was. Since that
was in the days before recording shows on VCR tapes (which we hadn’t even heard
of then), my dad aimed his Super 8 movie camera at the TV screen and recorded
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin stepping out of a spacecraft onto the moon’s
surface.

Exciting times.

Guess what? By the end of next year, we’re going back to the
moon. SpaceX, the private spaceflight company, plans to send a crewed
spacecraft around the moon in 2018 in time for the 50th anniversary
of the first trip around the moon. NASA, too, plans to return to the moon but
not until 2021.

photo credit: SpaceX

I don’t care who goes first. I’m just excited that we’re
going back. You may ask why. We’ve been there, done that. Yes, we have. But we
haven’t been that far into space since 1972. The flights have been to the space
station. NASA has to contract out space launches.

Since this blog isn’t a scientific one, what’s the
connection? I write science fiction romance, still considered part of
paranormal romance. “Adventure and Romance in this world and beyond” is the
subtitle of my blog. It’s what my writing is all about. Notice “adventure”
comes first in that subtitle.

Space adventure. My first love.

When I write about adventures in far off planets or on
spaceships, I use my imagination to build those worlds. Of course, I use movies
and books for ideas. Pinterest, too. But soon those worlds won’t be fictional.
Not in my lifetime and probably not in my children’s. Maybe my grandchildren
will see us venture beyond our moon to other planets in our solar system. Maybe
their grandchildren will get the chance to venture beyond that.

Wouldn’t that be fantastic?

In my science fiction novella, Mission to New Earth, pioneers fly to a Goldilocks planet to settle, explore, and populate.

Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would
you do it to save humankind?

In 2172, Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources
force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for
a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of
nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four.

Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they
ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for
Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction.
For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

14 comments:

I've always been fascinated by space. I loved the Carl Sagan films in school. But I'm not good on an airplane & don't like heights so I think my only space travel will be in my imagination. I enjoyed your post!

Fun post! I was 8 years old when that happened, and I don't recall it at all. I also don't recall the Vietnam war. I think my parents just didn't expose us to a lot of news. :) I admire your passion for outer space. I've never caught the 'bug' though. But, I do enjoy your sci-fi romances for sure! :)

Hali, ours was big console TV, black & white. It was years before I saw the landing in color. We, too, talked about it for days.

Alicia, I think you were lucky not to be exposed to a lot of news, esp. the Vietnam War. That was a terrible time for our country. Still, the space stuff was great. Even if you don't care for sci-fi (like my sisters), I'm glad you like my stories, though. ;)

Hi, C.J. Scary is right. I'm not sure if I'd go. When I was younger, I would've jumped at the chance. As we've seen twice, going into space is dangerous. Astronauts die. A lot of respect for them, too.

Sorchia, it's so disappointing that we haven't gone back sooner. I want that flying car, too. Self-driving, of course. :)

Personally, I'm good to keep my feet on the ground. My hubby loves the idea of space travel, but it has never been that attractive to me. Maybe it's the motion sickness? Unless they can automatically teleport me into space, it's not happening.